Sorry I couldn't be there, I was tied to a rocking chair
I was beat down to a pulp rocking back and forth somewhere
If you knew, if you saw, you'd have said it was the final straw
That my life was bound and tethered on a porch by the shore

But there is no no no no
Easy way to tell them so, the things you know
And run run run run
Run they say, they think they know exactly so

It's not right, it's not right
How am I the only one who sees us fight?
What are we? Who are they?
Who says those bastards don't deserve to pay?
Well it's enough, it's just enough 'cause we don't stand a chance
So long you stay around, you're just another song and dance
It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair
Still I'm the only one who seems to care

It's funny that being funny makes you feel like up and running
When your past lingers like rain clouds, casting shadows below
I could live with so many burns, I take all your hope and yearning
But there's no one I want to take me for that petty little rose

I used to glow glow glow glow
Once I had a love to show, a love they know
They're slow slow slow slow
So slow that they never know where I go

It's not right, it's not right
How am I the only one who sees us fight?
What are we? Who are they?
Who says those bastards don't deserve to pay?
Well it's enough, it's just enough 'cause we don't stand a chance
So long you stay around, you're just another song and dance
It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair
Still I'm the only one who seems to care

I know that it's only something
I'm just working with what I've been given
It's not my fault, I'm happy
Don't call me crazy, I'm happy

It's not right, it's not right
How am I the only one who sees us fight?
What are we? Who are they?
Who says those bastards don't deserve to pay?
Well it's enough, it's just enough 'cause we don't stand a chance
So long you stay around, you're just another song and dance
It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair
Still I'm the only one who seems to care

13 Comments

I think the song takes the role of a victim of some sort of sexual assault that is in the process of recovering. During this time you feel frozen while the rest of the world keeps moving.

Eventually it begins to anger you that the world around you isn't as upset as you are, you begin to look at people like they are terrible just for being happy while these horrible crimes happen all around us.

I frequently lost my temper with my family and said some pretty horrible things to them because of how they couldn't fully acknowledge the suffering in the world like I could.

Sexual assault is not fair to the victim, ever, justice is never enough (if it even ever occurs), and there is an incredible amount of shame that goes along with it.

So why does nobody seem to care. How can they be happy living in this world?

Their reply when you get angry with them is something along the lines of "it's not my fault that I'm happy".

- - - - -

If you have the capacity to help someone, you also bear the responsibility to do so

My InterpretationObviously this is a song very open for interpretation, but I personal feel it is talking about politics and the general disparity between laws made and laws that effect our lives. I feel like it also questions why politicians get to decide who the war is fought against, all the while corrupting the country. As well as mentioning the general consensus of the population in the title "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy"
-"its the number its the numbers" = lobbying?
-"They're slow, so slow that they never know where I go"= laws always take to long to be passed to be relevant
-"Who says those bastards don't deserve to pay"= whether its war or taxes others are always paying for decisions that the politicians make

My OpinionI think it's intentionally abstract, so there wouldn't be a specific meaning, more of a general feel. And maybe it's just me, but I think the general concept is more about society being what it is (you can fill in the rest), and the few who don't blend in so well (and society's reaction towards them).

My InterpretationI think when you listen to the song in the context of the lead singer's battle with depression, this song takes on a whole new pertinent meaning. I think that viewed through that lens, this is a very, very sad and heartfelt song. I think he is talking about how he has been chained by his depression, "tied to a rocking chair," "rocking back and forth. "

"I'm just working with what I've been given; It's not my fault, I'm happy; Don't call me crazy, I'm happy" -- Man oh man. I think thats it right there. He is talking through his depression. It isn't his fault, as he's fine.

Song MeaningThis song is about caring in general. When he sings "It's not fair, it's not fair, still I'm the only one who seems to care", it's easy to tell that this song, down to its bare bones, is simply that the singer feels as if he is the only one in the world who is passionate enough for one specific subject, while he feels that everyone else is only indifferent for something he cares about so much. For me personally, it's about doing something I love to do so much, but everyone else "on my side" doesn't love it as much as I do, and it's that sad feeling that I'm alone for the first time, and the fact that I can't possibly understand how they can be so indifferent while for me it's practically impossible to hold back all of my emotions. And it's that stubbornness he's expressing, by singing "Who says those bastards don't deserve to pay?" to express that he can't believe that everyone else can get away with caring so little and not experience anything at all; it's that unwillingness to let the passion disappear that's expressed here.

My InterpretationI think this song is about finally being aware of a corrupt world. In the beginning of the song, the protaganist talks about being tied to a rocking chair. I think this means that he was stuck in a place of unawareness, back and forth without questioning anything. Once he is aware of the world he realizes that everything is wrong. Bad things happen all the time, many caused by average people but no one notices because they are all stuck to their own rocking chair. But instead of the normal response of anger and hate, the protaganist accepts that there is only so much he can do. Reality is how you perceive it, and if you look at your life positively, you will lead a positive life.

My Takeaway from this song:

Ignorance is not bliss. You can hurt the people around you and destroy the relationships you've made or could've made. But likewise Ignorance is not terrible. And life only gets better if you make it better.